Ernest Merrick
OAM (born 15 January 1953) is a Scottish-Australian coach, who last managed
A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
soccer club
Newcastle Jets
Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australia ...
. He was released on 6 January 2020. He was the former head coach of the
Hong Kong national football team
The Hong Kong national football team () represents Hong Kong in international association football, football and is controlled by the Hong Kong Football Association, the governing body for football in Hong Kong. Hong Kong was the first in Asia ...
and A-League clubs
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
and
Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...
. He currently serves as the chief football officer for
Football Australia
Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only establ ...
.
Coaching career
Melbourne Victory
In his first season at
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
in 2005/06, the club failed to live up to its championship aspirations. With
Socceroos
The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated with ...
Archie Thompson
Archie Gerald Thompson (born 23 October 1978) is an Australian former professional association football, footballer. He also is serving as a club ambassador for Melbourne Victory FC.
Born in New Zealand, Thompson played youth football at the N ...
and
Kevin Muscat
Kevin Vincent Muscat (born 7 August 1973) is an Australian former association football player and the current manager of Yokohama F. Marinos. As a player, he represented the Australia national team at international level winning 46 caps and sco ...
in the squad, and the experience of 2 European internationals in
Geoffrey Claeys and
Richard Kitzbichler, expectations from the Melbourne fans were high. But they were left disappointed when the club finished the season 7th out of the 8 teams. After a promising start which saw them 1st after round 8, when they beat eventual champions
Sydney FC
Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...
5–0, the team then won only 3 of the last 13 games.
During the second season, The Victory won the 2006–07 A-League Premiership, 12 points clear of second placed
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...
. Melbourne Victory faced Adelaide United in the A-League Grand Final at the Telstra Dome on 18 February, winning the match 6–0 with Archie Thompson scoring an incredible five goals.
The 2007–2008 season was a return to the disappointment of Merrick's first year in charge however, with the team finishing outside the Top 4 spots and thus failing to progress to the Finals Series.
Melbourne Victory finished second in the group phase of the 2008 Asian Champions League.
Gamba Osaka
is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to st ...
won the group and went on to win the
Asian Champions League.
In the 2008–2009 season, Melbourne Victory won the treble; the Pre-Season Cup, the Premiership and the Grand Final. In the Grand Final, Melbourne Victory defeated Adelaide United 1–0 to secure their second championship under Ernie Merrick's coaching.
During the 2009–2010 season, Melbourne Victory, despite severe season-ending knee injuries to key players,
Billy Celeski
Blagoja "Billy" Celeski (born 14 July 1985) is a retired Macedonian-born Australian footballer. He last played as a midfielder for Ventforet Kofu in the J1 League in 2016.
Club career
Celeski signed for Perth Glory for the 2005–06 A-League ...
,
Matthew Kemp and star striker Archie Thompson once again reached the Grand Final.
Sydney FC
Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...
took out the title after extra time on penalties. Kevin Muscat and Marvin Angulo missed their penalty kicks, allowing Sydney to take out the championship.
On 12 March 2011, Ernie Merrick was sacked from his post at Melbourne Victory. The board of Melbourne Victory stated that they were unhappy with Victory's season and the 5–1 defeat by Gamba Osaka in Japan in the opening match of the Asian Champions League.
Anthony Di Pietro
Anthony Di Pietro (born 15 February 1969) is a businessman from Melbourne, Australia. Di Pietro is most known for his current and longest standing chairmanship of Melbourne Victory FC. Alongside sport, Di Pietro is also the Chief Executive Offic ...
, chairman of Melbourne Victory, said "Our club sets extremely high standards and we are disappointed with the results of the recent A-League season and also our start to the Champions League campaign" and that "Our intent is to continue to be the benchmark club in the A-League. We wish to be successful in Asia and believe this decision will assist in taking us to that level." Merrick was the last foundation coach to be sacked.
Ernie Merrick was awarded coach of the year in 2007 and again in 2010.
Hong Kong national football team
The
Hong Kong Football Association
The Hong Kong Football Association Limited (), often abbreviated to the HKFA, is the governing body of association football in Hong Kong. Its current chairman is Pui Kwan Kay and its Chief Executive Officer is Joaquin Tam.
History
The HKFA was ...
, on 16 December 2011, confirmed the appointment of Ernie Merrick as the new National Head Coach. On 26 October 2012, it was confirmed that Ernie Merrick left his position as the team's Head Coach.
Wellington Phoenix
On 20 May 2013, Merrick was announced as the head coach for
Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...
on a two-year contract, with an option for a third year. In his second season Merrick coached the team to third equal on the ladder with Adelaide Utd on 46 points and following this success he signed a 3-year contract extension.
On 5 December 2016, Merrick resigned from the Phoenix following a 2–0 loss to
Adelaide United
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional Association Football, soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under North American professional sports league organization#Systems ar ...
.
Newcastle Jets
In May 2017, Merrick was announced as the new coach of
Newcastle Jets
Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australia ...
, following the sacking of
Mark Jones after Newcastle Jets finished bottom of the league in the
2016–17 season. Merrick took the Jets to the Grand Final in his first year despite losing the club's top goal scorer Andrew Nabbout in the January transfer window. The Jets played Melbourne Victory and lost the game after a controversial VAR decision. The following year Sydney FC made an offer to him but he declined and on 17 April 2018, Merrick signed an improved contract keeping him with the Jets until the end of the 2019/20 Hyundai A-League season. Having lost seven starting line-up players through transfers over the twelve-month period since the Grand Final and with long-term injuries to new signing Wes Hoolahan and Captain Nigel Boogaard, the club's results deteriorated and Merrick was sacked by the Jets on 6 January 2020
St Kilda
In early 2022, Merrick joined
AFL
AFL may refer to:
Sports
* American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues:
** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
club
St Kilda as a mentor to senior coach
Brett Ratten
Brett Ratten (born 11 July 1971) is an Australian rules football coach and former player in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played 255 games for the Carlton Football Club between 1990 and 2003, including the club's 1995 premiership. He ...
. The role includes match day duties and weekday roles with the football department.
Personal life
Merrick was born in Edinburgh to a circus family. Before entering the head coaching ranks, he was a PE teacher as well as a semi-professional football player.
Coaching statistics
Honours
Coach
With
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
:
*
A-League Championship
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professionalism in association football, professional men's association football, soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Austral ...
:
2006–2007,
2008–2009
*
A-League Premiership:
2006–2007,
2008–2009
*
A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
The A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup competition was an annual soccer tournament held for all A-League clubs in July and August in the lead up to the start of the A-League season. The competition featured a group stage and a knockout stage. ...
:
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
Personal Honours:
*
A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
Coach of the Year:
2006–2007,
2009–10
*
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
: 2014
References
External links
Melbourne Victory profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrick, Ernie
1953 births
Living people
Australian soccer coaches
Australian expatriate soccer coaches
Scottish football managers
Scottish expatriate football managers
Sportspeople from Edinburgh
Scottish expatriates in Australia
Scottish Junior Football Association players
Expatriate soccer managers in Australia
Preston Lions FC managers
Melbourne Victory FC managers
Wellington Phoenix FC managers
Newcastle Jets FC managers
Scottish expatriates in Hong Kong
Australian expatriates in Hong Kong
A-League Men managers
Victorian Institute of Sport alumni
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
Association football defenders
Scottish emigrants to Australia
Association football players not categorized by nationality